3 reasons you should reach for canola oil when you’re cooking

Brierley asks: What oil do you cook with?

I was told by a German engineer that lived in Canada for many yrs...that canola stands for Canadian oil...and is used only as machine oil? I do know it is from hybrid rape and rape is deadly poisonous...I use olive oil for low heat and either sunflower or safflower for high heat cooking

— Anonymous

04/13/2010 - 4:09pm

I was told by a German engineer that lived in Canada for many yrs...that canola stands for Canadian oil...and is used only as machine oil? I do know it is from hybrid rape and rape is deadly poisonous...I use olive oil for low heat and either sunflower or safflower for high heat cooking

— Anonymous

04/13/2010 - 4:10pm

I use grapeseed oil when I want high temperatures and olive oil when I don't. Personally, I can't stand the stinky-fish odor of canola oil. No matter how fresh it is, when I heat it up, the stuff smells rancid. I also use butter in moderation. And goose or duck fat, which liquefy quickly at room temperature and have high smoke points.

— Anonymous

04/13/2010 - 4:15pm

I fry with canola oil -- the flash point is much higher than olive oil. If I am just sauteeing, then I use a light-tasting olive oil instead of canola, which is a bit heavier.

— Anonymous

04/13/2010 - 4:36pm

I spritz my omelet/saute pans with canola oil using my Misto. Enough for me and does the job as well.

— Anonymous

04/13/2010 - 4:38pm

For saute or fry, my first choice is grape seed oil. For salad dressing, I like olive oil. Olive oil also for flavoring pasta dishes. In baking, I prefer butter to oil for pastry, but if oil is called for, I try to use an oil whose flavor and heat tolerance compliment the dish. However, if I had to choose just one oil to have on hand, it would be grape seed.

— Anonymous

04/13/2010 - 4:39pm

Canola & olive oil

— Anonymous

04/13/2010 - 4:46pm

We actually seldom fry much of anything any more but when we do we tend to use canola oil, but some foods just taste better with a good virgin olive oil. I keep a bottle of half olive and half canola oil on the counter for a quick saute. My husband will use a smidge of butter once in a while. We've switched to grilling for most meats and vegetables. My husband will grill in any weather. We eat predomenently a plant based diet, so truely seldom to we heat oils.

— Anonymous

04/13/2010 - 4:48pm

Olive oil has a much lower flash point than canola oil, therefore extra virgin (light tasting) olive oil is great for sauteeing and for sauces and dressings. Use canola oil for frying due to much higher flash point.